Members of Congress earn $174,000 year. That’s cat-food money on K Street. According to Ivan Adler, a headhunter for the McCormick Group, a retiring member fetches at least $500,000 as a lobbyist. A retiring senator is worth more.

Delaney talked to our colleague Angela Canterbury, the director of advocacy for Public Citizen’s Congress Watch division, who told him Public Citizen would check in with those lawmakers soon just to make sure they got our request. Canterbury said:

“With financial reform under consideration and credible reform on the line, we have concerns about the intentions of the retiring senators and in particular ones who have not been as supportive of consumer protection as we would like.”